Operational Technology (OT) is increasingly interconnected with information technology (IT) systems, expanding the attack surface. As a result, adversaries may exploit an IT access point or cloud vulnerability to break into internet-facing OT/Industrial Control Systems (ICS). Legacy perimeter-based security controls such as firewalls are no longer sufficient to protect OT systems against sophisticated attacks.

According to Trend Micro’s 2022 Industrial Cybersecurity report, industrial cybersecurity threats are becoming increasingly common and can have a significant financial and reputational impact on businesses. In the past 12 months, 72% of industrial customers were disrupted at least six times, at an average cost of $2.8 million per incident. These incidents can also lead to a loss of customer trust and brand reputation.

Fortunately, PKI is a low-cost, flexible, time-tested, and standardized solution that delivers on the three key capabilities necessary for OT system security: authentication, confidentiality, and integrity. By issuing unique identities in the form of digital certificates for every device and server in a customer system, PKI can authenticate endpoints before communicating with them, safeguard data by providing end-to-end data encryption, and prevent unauthorized changes to code or data. PKI ensures OT systems and data remain insulated from attacks, while also meeting compliance requirements.

OT environments present unique challenges for managing security, but PKI helps safeguard data by providing end-to-end data encryption, both at rest and in transit. Encrypting communications also helps meet compliance requirements. SecureG provides a customer-specific private PKI system that integrates with OEM OT devices and systems. It delivers unique identities for every device in a customer system.

PKI is also cost-effective and flexible. By adding PKI to devices, OT OEMs can deliver better security while delivering competitively priced solutions. It is also time-tested over decades of use and standardized for maximum security and interoperability. SecureG recognizes that every OEM is different, and partners with each of our customers to help design the security, policies, and procedures that make sense for their particular business.

PKI is future-proof and designed to evolve to meet future needs like changing encryption algorithms. It provides easy (and sustainable) scalability and can run on public SaaS cloud infrastructure or private networks for on-premises environments.

SecureG delivers a customer-specific private PKI system that integrates with OEM OT devices and systems, issuing unique identities for every device in a customer system and securing the overall OT environment. Contact SecureG today for more information on how you can satisfy customer demand for security in your OT solutions.